What Are Crystal Fortune Dice?

Have you come across one of these?

Perhaps you found one in the shallows while mudlarking at the edges of a river? Have you dug one up in the garden when planting a shrub? Did you spot one at an antiques fair or flea market? Or were you lucky enough to have one handed down to you by an ancestor?

However you came across yours, you can feel very happy, as you have a rare and magical tool which you can use to help you in your everyday life.

In simple terms, crystal fortune dice are glass balls with 32 flattened faces or facets. The 32 sides are numbered 1 to 30, with a 0 and a 00 on the opposite edges. They orginated in Czechoslovakia in around the 1920’s to 1930’s, and were made by pouring lead crystal into a mould.

Czech crystal fortune dice are rare, and as such have become a collectors item as well as a much sought after divination tool.

Originally, these dice were marketed as a fortune telling game. They were advertised in magic brochures along with similar types of party games, and usually came in a cardboard box with a set of paper instructions. Sadly, the majority of the boxes and instructions are long gone and this leaves people unaware of what they are or how to use them.

Most of the crystal fortune dice I have come across have been made in Czechoslovakia (now two independent states; The Czech Republic and Slovakia) and these have the ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ mark indented around the 0. However, they have been marketed and sold throughout the world under different guises. For example in the USA, some were called ‘The Hindu Crystal Ball’ and were marketed and sold by the Rou-Ball-Ette Co., in New York (which leads me to another use for the dice and which I’ll tell you about later).

Here’s a quick summary of what they are:

• A die (singular) or dice (more than one)
• They have 32 sides – ‘1-30’ then a ‘0’ and a ’00’
• The Czech mark means that they are made from lead crystal – this means that a small percentage of lead has been added to the glass
• The lead crystal was poured into two semi-circular (half ball) moulds then joined together by hand to make the ball shape
• Originally made in Czechoslovakia, but some do not have the markings and were likely made elsewhere
• Made as a fortune telling game and came with instructions
• Made between 1920 and 1930

I have lots more to tell you about these wonderful crystal balls so please look out for future posts.